Celebrating the Beginning of July

On July 1st, I added to three of myWattpadprojects, including the arduous task of one-sentence synopsi in the comments section of each chapter (and technically, I also worked on this for a good part of July 2nd, but when I’m having an insomniac writing binge, relative things like time fly out the window);

My hope was, by incorporating a one-sentence synopsis in the comments section of every chapter, I could:

leave stepping stones to bounce off of as I reread “where have I been?”

answer “where am I going?” (which has become progressively harder as these projects balloon in size);

make sure I’m not leaving any loose threads hanging, as I complicate interwoven strings;

July 2nd Publications

I had a bout with insomnia on the night of July 1st/2nd that lasted until 7am. After I finally went to bed, I rested until 2pm; 7 hours of sleep!—then Chase came home from subbing at a severe/mod SPED class at a high school (45min bicycle ride away), and we had Durotar pies for dinner.

Another upcycled Harney & Sons peppermint tea canister, this one with equal parts bamboo and ocean breeze (I have regrets about not using peppermint essential oil a second time in the, y’know, peppermint tea canister) and no glitter

Lotus flower silicone mold with the same bamboo and ocean breeze mix

Once we finished candles, it was 10pm. Chase went to bed around 11pm, and I continued writing, thinking I’d stop at 1am or so. Since I woke up at 2pm, I’d wanted to at least be awake until 2am, (with the last hour of the night reading Feynman on Kindle,) to try to slowly return to a day/night sleeping cycle. But I stayed up until 4am, sorting ideas in one of my phone’s apps, Ideament. It usually takes me about a week to reset after an all-nighter, so I forgave myself for this.

I used to loathe these insomniac episodes, because they antagonize a regular work schedule, but when I spend all day writing, I have more flexibility when (and where!) I work; and that freedom helps me forgive the flaring side effects of depression and anxiety, which in turn lowers future forays with depression and anxiety.

July 2nd Research

I let myself fall down the YouTube rabbit hole to research my different Wattpad projects.

I’ve been trying to clean up my YouTube playlists lately, after realizing the creative potential of semi-organized Pinterest boards.

Emergence No. 7 (Sci-Fi/Fantasy)

“Imagine one of these inching through your arteries, cleaning your body as it goes…” 😆

American Catseye (Animal Humor)

I’m always embarrassed by how much I laugh at Ze Frank’s videos.

Rydia’s Last Cure

The below ridiculous video inspired me to write a set of 3x three-sentence synopsi for Part One, Part Two, and Part Three of Rydia’s Last Cure, (so a 3×3 prewriting exercise,) to help gauge where I want the second and third movements of the story to go; and that, in turn, inspired me to do the same exercise for my more serious project, Emergence No. 7.

July 3rd Research

“Buried up to his eyeballs, he watches and waits. Then springs into action, impaling his prey on a serrated blade with blinding speed, dragging it beneath the sand…hexnocular: for when accuracy counts.” This is way more terrifying than the giant spider that tried to eat Frodo.

I also found a lovely fractal kaleidoscope for the upcoming interdimensional journey in Part Two of Emergence No. 7…

Cleo’s Autism Awareness

I know I could write something good about social skills with the below video, but I’m not sure if I want to venture into humor writing on my autism awareness blog. I mean, who doesn’t like to laugh?—EXCEPT WHEN I’M NOT FUNNY, I’M VERY ANXIOUS ABOUT WHEN I’M NOT FUNNY—

Holiday on July 4th

Only plan on handwriting for the holiday… 🤗 Put together a binder of notes for Emergence No. 7 with lots of lined paper wedged in the middle of my print-outs, so I can see what my imagination has locked away under the magical spell of ballpoint pens.

I have lots of handwritten projects I’ve been meaning to work on beyond Emergence No. 7, so I’m bringing candles outside on July 4th and 5th to play on paper and soak in lovely smells in the hot sun. With any luck, I can mine up ideas not just for my Wattpad projects, but the WordPresses I’ve been investing in, too.

Happy July 4th!—remember enormous fireworks in tightly woven neighborhoods are super rude to all the pets (and nervous people, for that matter) who are trying to avoid heart attacks!

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Published by Kourtnie

Kourtnie McKenzie holds an MFA (Fiction) from Fresno State and a BA in English (Literature Studies) from Cal State Fullerton. When she isn't writing novellas, she's moonlighting as a professor at Fresno City College and College of the Sequoias. To read more of her writing, visit en.gravatar.com/kourtnie.
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